A prosecutor countered that Guzzardi "partie(d) for seven years on somebody else's dime," despite the fact she and her husband had combined incomes of more than $300,000 and no children.

Guzzardi took relatives on trips to Hawaii, the Caribbean and San Francisco, and spent lavishly on herself and others, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Caulfield said. She also spent heavily on spas, restaurant meals and flowers and made extra mortgage payments on the couple's $425,000 house in suburban Haddon Heights, N.J.

"When you steal money and you don't need it, that is pure greed," Caulfield said. "(It) was spent on ridiculous luxuries that many parishioners may only dream about."

American Express discovered the scam when the company questioned the use of church checks to pay monthly bills that sometimes topped $29,000.

Guzzardi has repaid $260,000, and has been ordered to pay the remaining restitution. Her sister, Rosemarie Gallo, called Guzzardi "the dependable one" in the large extended South Philadelphia family — many of whom came to court — and said their parents had gambling and shopping addictions.

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